Trathen Heckman's blog

Good day Transitioners. Here in Northern California, spring's verdant emergence is upon us. The fruit tree blossoms are popping, the chickens are laying and after recent rains, the soil is moist and the rain tanks are full. I love this season. Spring is imbued with a vitality that infuses one with hope. The kind of hope that comes from lived in visions, ones with our heads, hearts and hands aligned in meaningful action.

I’m sitting on a plane from the UK to California, taking lots of long slow breaths, feeling tired but inspired from a 12-day trip that feels like I plugged my finger into the sun. Of course mindful breathing also helps when surrounded by a sea of disposable plastic items that comes in addition to the big emissions when we travel by air.

On a single weekend, May 14th & 15th, thousands of us will take to the streets, the garden, schoolyard, home, apartment and city hall to take action as part of the 350 Home & Garden Challenge. Transition US, in collaboration with a multitude of organizations across the country will transform, retrofit and revitalize our landscapes and homes to grow food, conserve water, save energy and build community. And we need YOU to join us. Stand up and be counted, inspire your family, friends and neighbors to do the same.

Ahhh the wide-ranging highs and woes of waking to our world. Just two days before the 350 Garden Challenge, I sat in a Climate Congress with accomplished civic and non-profit leaders, some of whom are responsible for helping Sonoma County set national-precedent with our innovative and inspiring climate goals and work. While there is much to celebrate, the harsh reality of the climate report card is that we are getting an F. Collectively we are failing at the most obvious choice we have to make, which will impact life on this planet for the next thousand years.

I am astounded by how this community shows up. In 13 weeks from a slightly crazy idea to help address big problems by planting and revitalizing hundreds of gardens in a single weekend, here we are with 3 days to go, 430 gardens registered and our community lit and aligned, from the water agency to cities, businesses, non-profits, churches, schools and the media...

I trust you are surfing spring's surge with grace and inspired action or at least treading water with compassion and a smile. It's a funny and humbling thing trying to tune into nature's rhythms, catching bee swarms, grafting fruit trees, sowing seeds and reviving our sense of place between meetings and deadlines. But each time we catch that glimpse of wonder and feed our connection it sticks a bit more.